9/7/2017 Horse Prairie Fire Update

The final footprint of the Horse Prairie fire has now been established in Douglas County and further fire growth is not anticipated.  Current size is 16,436 acres and containment is 30%.  Today's action on the fire will be continued strengthening of control lines and burning areas that were included in the constructed fire line but not consumed by the fire.  Burning these areas, now, in a controlled manner, with firefighters present, will help to prevent an unexpected fire flare-up after the main complement of firefighters leave.  Smoke from these burnouts will be visible from Cow Creek Road but not be a threat to the control line.

On Wednesday, September 6th effective 8:00 p.m. the evacuation level along Cow Creek Road was reduced from Level 3 to Level 2.  Road blocks will remain staffed and residents may return without Douglas County Sheriff's escort.  Access to the public is restricted due to heavy fire truck traffic.

A trace of rain fell on the fire during the night of Wednesday, September 6th.  This rainfall is not considered a season ending event and fire danger remains high.  Warmer temperatures and lower humidity have been forecast to return Monday.

The fire is staffed with 1,087 personnel which are staying at the Incident Command Post located just east of Riddle.

Smoke remains in the area and to learn more about smoke in the area, log on to http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/.

To stay current on any changes in fire activity, follow us on social media at Facebook.com/horseprairiefire<https://facebook.com/horseprairiefire> or on the national incident reporting site known as Inciweb (NOTE: Inciweb will be slowly updated due to it being sporadically offline).